Quiet Book Page #1 - Train Tracks

Remember the Quite Book Overview I did a while back? I'm going through the book page by page and explaining in more detail how I did everything and linking to any patterns that I used. Be sure to check out the other quiet book pages that will follow through the next couple of weeks!

Quiet Book Page #2 - Shapes & Colors
Quiet Book Page #3 - Barn & Finger Puppets

Also, be sure to check out the Quiet Book FAQ to answer some general questions about putting a quiet book together.

I think the train tracks are Andyroo's favorite page to play with. I told him I was making some train tracks for his quiet book and he was so excited. He kept asking me when it would be done so he could play with it.

I designed the two pages in Silhouette Studio then got to work cutting everything out. The tracks were cut out of the Silhouette brown heat transfer material and the rest of the images were done with ink jet transfer paper from Joann's (also found at any craft/hobby store). To use the inkjet transfer paper, I simply sent the design to my inkjet printer, cut them out, and ironed them on. Soooo easy!

After the design was ironed on, I took 2 little train buttons and 1 little boat button and tied them to the middle ring with some embroidery floss. However, I've found that this isn't the best way to do it. Everything gets all tangled and is a pain to undo. But I have yet to think of a better way. Any ideas?

The trains and boat were leftover buttons from the I-Spy bag I made before our Iowa trip. There's enough length to move the trains all around the tracks, but not so much that they're a choking hazard.

Put in some grommets and stick the pages in your book. Using the same heat transfer idea, I'm also planning on doing a road page for some extra truck and car buttons I have leftover.

If you have any questions, let me know. I'd be happy to answer them!

Traveling Project #4 - I-Spy Bag

These I-Spy bags aren't a new concept, especially in blog land. They've been around for a while, but they make a great quiet time or traveling activity. I do have to say though that this kind of project is probably better suited for an older child. We tried this when Andrew was just barely two (about 27 months) and he had a hard time knowing what to do and maneuvering the pellets around. Even now, at almost 3 years old, he has a hard time maneuvering the pellets, but he enjoys sitting with me and helping me find all the objects.

 

I put this together pretty easily with some soft, fuzzy material I had leftover from doing the cover of Andyroo's quiet book. Grab a bag or two of some Poly Pellets (any craft/hobby store should have them - even Walmart) and a myriad of objects to put into the bag.

Here's a shot of all the objects I put in before I added them to the bag. That little clear jellyfish can be pretty hard to find! Most of these were found at Michaels in their buttons section. That can be a little pricey though, so try and find little things around your house. Unfortunately we don't have a lot of small things like this (with only one two-year-old) so I had to look elsewhere.

Cut your material to your preferred size. I did about 8"x8", but I think that's too big, especially for the littler ones. I should have gone with maybe a 5" or 6" square. Keep in mind that the Poly Pellets make this really heavy!

In the middle of the front, I cut out a 3" or 4" square (your size will depend on how hard you want this to be) and then also cut out a 5" piece of clear vinyl to make a window. Sew the vinyl onto the square to make the window. If the vinyl sticks to the machine, put a piece of tissue paper on both (or just one) sides of the vinyl and that will keep the vinyl from sticking or sliding. When you're finished, just tear it away. Something like this.

Sew three of the bag sides together, leaving a good portion of one side open. Fill the bag with your items and poly pellets. To ensure a better stitch, I turned in/under the edges and then machine sewed the hole.

I also added a grommet in one corner so that I could attach a picture of all the objects in the bag.

The I-Spy bag is great to take to church, in the car, or to even just have some quiet time at home. No matter how many times we've gone through the bag, Andyroo still enjoys finding stuff with me. And it seems like we're always discovering something new hiding in there. We still haven't been able to find the sneaky little penny or quarter!

Traveling Project #3 - Quiet Book

This is the third in our Traveling Project series. Be sure to check out the other posts in this series. Links are at the bottom!
While the thought of making a quiet book strikes fear into the hearts of many mothers, rest assured that you need not fear. There are so many tutorials and patterns available that you really don't have to have much creativity in order to create an awesome, well-loved quiet book. Also know that this post is just an overview of the quiet book I made for Andyroo. I'll be posting some more information and tutorials on the specific pages over the next couple weeks. In the meantime, if you have any questions about specific pages that you'd like me to address, please feel free to ask them now so I can make sure I answer them when I post the tutorials.

On to the quiet book!

Page 1: Matching Shapes/Colors



The shapes snap on with little snaps - also helps with fine motor skills!


Page 2: Barnyard Finger Puppets

All the animals tuck away safely in the barn

Big enough to fit mom's fingers, but small enough to fit Andyroo's fingers too!

Page 3: Alphabet/Letters/Spelling

Don't mind the missing "I" - I think it's in my son's room and it's naptime, so I'm not going in and searching for it!

The missing "I" came in handy! Each letter has an outline on the page and sticks with velcro.

On the bottom of the 2nd page, there's a blank space so that as Andyroo gets older, he can start to spell simple words.

Page 4:  Numbers/Counting

Cute little flaps with objects to count

Page 5: Notebook and Pencil

There's a slot for a small notebook on the right and a pen/pencil/crayon/etc on the left. There's a flap over the top to keep them in when they're not being used.

Okay, okay, the notebook and pencil aren't really in there. But I didn't want to track them down again.

Page 6: Train Tracks

The trains and boat are attached with embroidery floss to the middle ring.

Cover: Back and Front

Each page has 3 grommets and is bound with 3 book rings (the ones that open and close)

There are a few other pages that aren't complete yet - a Shoe for lacing and tying, Flowers for buttoning (I need to figure out the buttonholing feature on my sewing machine first), and a couploe other pages for cars and such.

Hopefully this inspired you to make your own quiet book. Be sure to stay tuned for some tutorials and more information about the specific pages!

Be sure to check out our other articles and projects to help prepare for your vacations:


Traveling Project #1 - Neck Pillow
Traveling Project #2 - Car Mat
Traveling on a Plane with Small Children
Road Trips with Small Children

Traveling On A Plane With Small Children

Just the title of this post might make some of you cringe, feel lightheaded, or maybe even a little nauseous. I recently took a six hour flight with my 3 and 5 year old and it went very well. I thought I would share some of the things that I did for our plane ride.


First of all the most important thing to do is....breathe. Flying alone or only with adults can be stressful in and of itself, but when you add small children to the mix things go up a couple of levels in some anxiety. Kids are sensitive to everything you are feeling and will know if you are having heightened stress levels and will react on how you are acting. Try to act as least stressed out as possible especially if you cannot get rid of inner stress....at least be a good actor with your kids in mind. If you have bad flight anxiety there are forums and websites online with lots of support, tips on making it, and even classes to help with your flight.



Second, come prepared! Just as Miranda pointed out for traveling in the car it makes the trip so much more enjoyable for your child AND you when you're prepared with lots of entertainment. Be sure to pack at least one of your carry on luggage pieces for this purpose solely. Fill up your bag full of anything that you know is a comfort item for your child first. With my boys I let them pick out a favorite stuffed animal. Your child might need a story that always comforts them, blanket, or we all know that sometimes for the littlest children a binky will be the only cure for any kind of a melt down. I also let my boys pick out the toys they wanted to bring. I let them know what size could fit in our bag and they had a hay day with "helping mom pack". Along with a blanket a pillow also. Most planes do have blankets and pillows to give to flyers but they can be small and uncomfortable. The smell of their own pillow and/or blanket will help comfort them and can make it easier for them to sleep on longer flights.

Other ideas for entertainment are coloring books, puzzles, games, new toys they haven't seen that you bought beforehand, laptop for movies...etc. Some planes have small tv's for each flyer to pick their own movie, tv show, or game. They give out little ear pieces on these flights but they usually are hard for small children to keep in their ears so I recommend bringing headphones that you know are comfortable and can easily fit on your child's head and ears. Snacks are a must but be sure to check with your airline to see what restrictions they have.

Don't forget to put in your carry on: diapers and/or pull-ups, wipes, small first aid kit (just in case), children's tylenol and pepto if they get sick, extra clothes, hand sanitizer, and if your child is old enough some gum for his/her ears to help with the altitude changes. If you are traveling out of the country or moving it's important to keep all important documents with you on the plane such as birth certificates, passports, or some form of ID for your child (and you).

Last I wanted to focus on preparing your child emotionally for the flight. It is very important to let your child know about where you are going and how you're going to get there because children are very routine minded. Breaking the routine is going to be hard on them so prepare them as much in advance as you can and remind them often as it gets closer about what's coming up. Make sure to act excited and happy about the trip so your child will be excited for it as well. Besides talking about it one thing that I did for my boys was write a small story about riding on a plane. I made them the lead characters and it was a hit! I also prepared them for where we were going with a story so that landing in a new environment wasn't scary or unsettling. If you like this idea and are not up to the challenge of illustrating your own story you can ask a friend who is good at art to do it for you or simple stick figures will do. It doesn't have to be fancy....your little story books will go down in history with them and surely be kept to look back on in the future.

I also looked up pictures of airplanes (the outside and inside) to show my boys so it was familiar to them before getting on the plane. I found a video on YouTube that showed a "first flight" experience for some small children. The video was exciting and fun to watch. Don't forget to preview videos first to make sure they are G rated for little one's eyes and ears ;).

All of these tips helped make our latest 6 hour flight very smooth. My boys were well prepared beforehand and very entertained on the plane. We even got lucky and they fell asleep! Now that is a successful plane ride with small children!

Watch for up coming posts on Flying With Infants, which we have also done successfully, and Flying With Anxiety. Please share your tips and tricks on flying with children that worked for you and any questions you may have. Happy flying!

Be sure to check out our other articles and projects to help prepare for your vacations:


Traveling Project #1 - Neck Pillow
Traveling Project #2 - Car Mat
Traveling Project #3 - Quiet Book
Traveling on a Plane with Small Children
Road Trips with Small Children

Traveling Project #2 - Car Mat

This is the second in our Traveling Project series. Be sure to check out the other posts in this series. And stay tuned for a post from Heather about traveling on an air plane with small kiddos!

My mom found this awesome Cars material about a year ago and said she wanted to make Andyroo a play mat for his cars. This was before Thomas the Train - even before Toy Story! We've gone through a few character phases since then, but he still loves driving his cars around.

Close up of the top material

I found this awesome vinyl material in the remnants at Joann's and instantly knew how I could use it!

Can you see the texture on the vinyl? It looks kind of weird. I've actually looks and looked through all the fabric at Joann's and haven't been able to find it anywhere. I had enough for the project, but I was just interested in finding out more about the material. Anyone know anything about this material?

Anyway, I used this for the back of the mat, black side out. I like that it gives the mat a little bit of grip and strength, but is still easy enough to fold and store.

Luckily, this project just involved straight lines because, at the time, my sewing machine was sewing only in reverse. Yeah. It didn't make the project any easier and resulted in a LOT of pin pokes. I was pretty desperate to get it done before our trip to Arizona, which is why I put up with the whole reverse thing. It didn't effect the project very much until I put the binding on. Binding is hard enough to do without having to reverse everything you would normally be doing. Up close, the binding looks pretty wrinkly and horrible. See? 

It's a good thing I made it for a two year old who doesn't really care if the binding is straight or not.

I decided to use binding because of the thickness of the vinyl. I didn't even want to try and double up the vinyl to do any kind of hem on it. Since I used a binding, I just sewed the top and bottom together with the right sides out. Sew on the binding and voila! T fun little play mat for your crazy car driver! The finished size is about a square yard. But you can easily adjust this to be the size you prefer. I chose this size because that's what I could get out of the vinyl remnant (I actually pieced together two big pieces of the vinyl to get this size).

The two pieces of vinyl pieced together. Sewn together, then I sewed the sides down to prevent an awkward lump.

We took this on our trip to Arizona instead of train tracks for Andyroo's trains. We could easily pull this out in the car while we were stopped and then fold and go when we were read. We even pulled it out while we were there and the kids loved it!

Be sure to check out our other articles and projects to help prepare for your vacations:


Traveling Project #1 - Neck Pillow
Traveling Project #3 - Quiet Books
Traveling on a Plane with Small Children
Road Trips with Small Children

Traveling Project #1 - Neck Pillow

As I mentioned in the Traveling Tips post, our first long car trip with Andrew was a drive out to Iowa to see Hubby's family. Andyroo did not enjoy sleeping in the car, but I think part of that was due to the fact that he was uncomfortable. Hus poor head was flopping all over the place as he was trying to sleep. The big, full size pillows that we brought did NOT fit well behind his head. Poor kid.

Needless to say, I needed to do something about that for our next drive - Phoenix, AZ! I've seen neck pillows in the store - for $10 or $15, but knew I could do one for cheaper that would be customized to something my son likes. Something like this!

Don't you love his crazy hair!?

I searched and searched the stores and online for a cute Thomas the Train fabric. I was running out of time and didn't want to pay $5 for a yard of fabric to be shipped to me. I forgot that Hobby Lobby has fabric (it's a fairly new store around here, so it's not the first craft store that pops into my head), so I made a quick trip to scout out their fabric. I was in luck - the only place in town that carries Thomas fabric! It wasn't exceptionally cute, but it would work. It was Thomas and that's what Andyroo would care about.

The pattern was pretty simple. I just cut out a kind of closed C shape. When I was cutting, I kept thinking I was cutting out a toilet seat (the ones that aren't closed all the way). This is what I can up with. I actually think that I would have liked it to be a little more closed, but I didn't realize that until it was done and I let Andyroo try it.

Cut two. Pretty simple. Sew the two pieces together, with right sides together. Leave a small opening in the middle, either on the inside of the curve or the outside of the curve. Turn it right side out and stuff. Either hand stitch the opening or turn the edges under a little and machine stitch.

This worked really well for Andyroo! Much, much, much better than trying to maneuver a full-size pillow around in his car seat. And much cheaper than $10-!5 dollars to buy one at the store. By my estimation, based on the amount of material and stuffing I used, it cost me about $3 to make. I still have fabric and stuffing leftover for other projects!

Be sure to check out our other articles and projects to help prepare for your vacations:


Traveling Project #2 - Car Mat
Traveling Project #3 - Quiet Books
Traveling on a Plane with Small Children
Road Trips with Small Children

Traveling with Kids - Road Trips

It's summertime and we all know that means summer trips! Need some tips for traveling with small children? Look no further! We'll also be highlighting some quick and easy travel projects to hopefully make your trip comfortable, fun, and easy!

In early April, we drove down to Phoenix to attend our new niece's baby blessing. This was our second long distance car trip with Andyroo and I've definitely learned a few things about traveling with toddlers.

1. Traveling during nighttime (in hopes they'll sleep for more of the trip) is not necessarily a good idea!
Before our first car trip (to Iowa, for reference - about 18-20 hours), just about everyone we talked to suggested traveling at night so that Andyroo would sleep more. It made sense to us, so that's what we did.

NOT a good idea, for Andyroo. My advice - Know your children!

If your child is the type that can sleep anywhere, then you'll probably be fine to expect them to sleep in the car. But if your child is like Andyroo and doesn't really like to sleep anywhere but his bed, then expecting them to sleep in a car seat most of the night is not a good idea. Andyroo would sleep for an hour or two (at the most) then wake up screaming bloody murder. He was disoriented and unhappy to still be in the car. And most of the time he insisted on having the parent that was driving come sit next to him. To appease the toddler (and our aching ears), we would have to stop the car, let Andyroo out, and switch drivers. After our little stops, he would be awake for another 2 hours, then finally fall asleep, starting the process over. It was torture if you were the parent trying to sleep.

If your child needs his bed to sleep, then travel during the day when the expectation of sleep isn't so great. You'll thank me later.


2. Bring LOTS of things to entertain your child!
I brought a HUGE box of things to keep Andyroo entertained. Truthfully, he probably didn't play with half of them. But I'd rather have too much for him to do than not enough.

Along with that, don't give you child the box of stuff at the beginning of the trip. In fact, it's not necessary to pull anything out unless they need something to do. You don't want them to get bored with the stuff you've brought in the first hour of the car ride, right?

Some of the things that Andyroo really loved:

• Glow sticks - Especially if you're traveling at night. $1 for l0 at Michaels!
• Anything magnetic - We have a little magnetic farm book, but also consider taking magnets from your fridge and a cookie sheet (the magnets will stick to the cookie sheet)
• Anything that makes noise - All those annoying books or little toys that drive you nuts will be a big hit!
• Toys they've never seen - Consider saving the Happy Meal type toys or going to the dollar store and picking up a bunch of stuff.

Some of the things that didn't entertain Andyroo:

• Books - Normally he loves to read, but they didn't keep his attention very well during the car trip.
• Coloring Books - Again, he loves to color but wasn't entertained by this
• Puzzles

3. Movies
I normally don't think movies in the car are such a good idea. I see parents with DVD players in the car that turn them on around town and it just makes me sick. Don't kids get enough TV at home? Do they really need it in the car too?

But I'm not going to lie. Having a DVD player in the car was...AH-MAY-ZING! When we drove to Iowa, we just took our laptop, which was okay, but it was a pain to work with. It was big, bulky, and didn't really have a place to sit. We ended up putting it on top of a pile of pillows and blankets. Even then, Andyroo kept complaining that he couldn't see (or hear) it. For our Phoenix trip, I broke down and decided to buy a DVD player for the car. I ended up getting a killer deal on a dual-screen model that can attach to the back of the front seats. It really was the best thing ever. And I'm not even tempted to keep it in our car now. Right now it's boxed up, awaiting our next long distance car trip.

Make sure you bring along a few favorites and a few new things too. Don't want to spend money on buying or renting DVDs to take? Check out your local library. We picked up about five movies to take with us for Andyroo. Our library lets you keep them for a week. Even if you keep them longer, the late fee still isn't as high as renting or buying (for us it was like $1.50 total to keep all five movies an extra two days).


4. Stop Often & Let Your Child Out!
As parents who are driving, it's not always easy to think about getting out of the car every few hours. Everyone gets out, takes their time doing what they want to do, then a half hour later, you're finally piling back into the car again. For an 18 hour car ride, if you stop every 3 hours for a half an hour, you're adding 3 hours to your trip. When you're the one doing the driving, you just want to get there! But stopping is a necessary evil with small children - otherwise they're going to be screaming and crying and you're going to go crazy. You have to stop for gas, food (unless you bring your own), potty breaks, etc, so just plan on stopping every few hours. When you stop, make sure that everything you need to do is done. Even if you don't NEED gas, get it. Kids say they don't need to go potty? Make them go anyway. That way you're minimizing the amount of times you have to stop. If you stop to let everyone stretch, but don't bother with refueling or potty breaks, then in a half hour you're going to end up stopping again because your little one has a potty emergency. Do yourself a favor and plan to stop.


5. Take Snacks!
Bring all the favorites! And stock up before you leave. It might seem easier to just pick up things along the way, but if you buy them at the grocery store before you leave, you'll save yourself SO much money. There have been times when, even on small car trips with Andyroo, I have to stop at a gas station or even a regular grocery store for some snack items. At home I can buy his favorites on sale at rock bottom prices. But at the gas station, you're paying a HUGE mark-up! Do yourself another favor and buy the food before you leave. Chances are, you know pretty well in advance when you'll be making a long trip. Watch for things to go on sale and buy them then - don't wait until you're in the car desperate for something snacky.

Along with buying them beforehand, buy things you know your child will eat - things that they LOVE and maybe don't get at home all the time. Buy the fun fruit snacks or yummy cookies. They may not be the healthiest, but they'll make your child happy. And when the kiddos are happy, mommas are happy.


I think the biggest thing about traveling with toddlers and small children is to plan ahead and make things as comfortable as possible. Remember, those little car seats don't allow for much movement and they're itching to get out just as much as, if not more than, you. Stay positive! You'll eventually make it to your destination!

Do you have any awesome tips for traveling with small children?

Be sure to check out our other articles and projects to help prepare for your vacations:


Traveling Project #1 - Neck Pillow
Traveling Project #2 - Car Mat
Traveling Project #3 - Quiet Books
Traveling on a Plane with Small Children